This invention relates to the conditioning of fibrous materials and fabrics, such as those which are made of cotton, synthetic organic polymers or mixtures thereof. More specifically, it relates to the conditioning of such materials with preparations, desirably in stable foam form, which contain one or more of a group of particular polymeric conditioning agents. Preferably, such compositions also include at least one especially useful softening and/or anti-static agent, an anionic or nonionic detergent or a mixture of detergents of such type(s), water and liquefied gas propellant.
Fabrics, yarns, threads, other textiles and articles made from them, such as clothing and laundry, have been treated to impart desirable properties to them. Compositions for effecting such treatments, such as those incorporating softening and antistatic agents, have been produced in a wide variety of physical forms, including emulsions, sprays, solids, coated papers and fabrics, sponges and liquids and applications of such materials to textiles and articles made from textiles have been effected at a variety of temperatures and under different conditions so as to produce the best softening, anti-static, antibacterial and other desired properties in the treated articles.
Softening agents and anti-static materials have been deposited on laundry during rinse cycles and also while it is being washed in automatic washing machines and have been applied to tumbling laundry in automatic dryers. In U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 109,691, for Fabric Conditioning, by Roberts et al., filed in the U.S. Patent Office on Jan. 25, 1971 and Ser. No. 507,090 of the present inventors, filed Sept. 18, 1974 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,822,145 and 3,826,682, of Liebowitz et al., there are described "aerosol" foams containing fabric conditioning materials intended for application to laundry being dried and tumbled in an automatic laundry dryer. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,145 the conditioning foam employed is a stable foam and contains a poly-lower alkylene, such as polyethylene. The disclosures of the mentioned applications and patents are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Although applicants and other workers in the Research and Development Department of their assignee company have previously discovered the usefulness of various conditioning compositions in foam form, suitably dispensed from a pressurized container for intended use in automatic laundry dryers, the present invention utilizes polymeric materials hitherto unknown for this purpose.